20 Kentucky School Advocate | November 2025
Q. You have been a school psychologist
for more than 20 years. Why are
psychologists needed in schools?
A. School psychologists support other school-
based district mental health professionals.
We have a lens that’s about data. In addition
to student and individual data, school
psychologists also evaluate systems and
programs and show how to organize and
summarize student level data to identify
needs of the school or the students. The
foundation of school psychology is database
decision making. School psychologists are
trained in mental health and academic
interventions and in diagnostic assessment, as
well as family intervention. On the academic
side, for example, they are trained to screen
for learning disabilities.
Q. So, school psychologists work with
other mental health professionals in the
district?
A. Yes, they provide consultation services with
teachers and families around mental health or
academic support. A school psychologist can
work closely with the school counselors and
school social workers on behavior and mental
health interventions, as well as with special
education teachers to support their students
in terms of learning abilities and strength-
based assessments.
Q. You are the president of the
Kentucky Association for Psychology
in the Schools (KAPS). Tell us about the
organization and its mission.
A. KAPS currently has about 200 members.
Our mission is to provide school psychologists
with leadership support, professional advocacy
and professional training to meet the needs of
school communities. We have a fall conference
each year, and for those who can’t come due
to distance, we will be doing some regional
programs. Our conferences are open to other
educators and community members.
Q. As part of your job, you co-lead the
district’s trauma-informed care team.
Can you describe what that entails?
A. Legislation requires every district to
have a trauma-informed education plan.
Our team assesses schools in our district
and then develops a district plan. The goal
is to increase awareness of students who
have experienced trauma, training for
law enforcement and partnerships with
community agencies and awareness of the
impact trauma has on learning. We focus on
screening and adverse childhood experiences
and try to educate about that, but also, we
want to promote resiliency. Schools provide
lots of opportunities for positive childhood
experiences, so that gives us a way to support
students. If they’re coming to school and
they’re having positive learning experiences,
positive friendship experiences and positive
relationships with adults, that can mitigate
the impact of trauma. For many students who
have experienced trauma, schools are a safe
place for them physically and psychologically.
Q. The legislation you mentioned, the
School Safety and Resiliency Act passed
in 2019, requires all schools to have a
trauma-informed care team. What has
been the impact of that requirement?
A. The requirement came out right before
Covid, which was a traumatic event for
students, teachers and families. But it allowed
us to focus on our care for kids, staff and the
school community and talk about community
and how schools are a community. When
the shutdown was lifted, we wanted our
students to come back to school and to have
a safe place because we had seen from the
news that during the Covid shutdown there
was an increase in domestic violence and
abuse at home. So Covid provided a chance
to focus on trauma-informed supports when
students came back because they had not
received school-based supports for two
years. Many schools, even before the trauma-
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Mackenzie Leachman
In Conversation With
features an interview
between a leader
or figure involved in
public education and
a representative of
the Kentucky School
Advocate.
Mackenzie Leachman is
outgoing president of the
Kentucky Association for
Psychology in the Schools.
A licensed psychologist
with more than 20
years of experience in
preschool, elementary and
secondary settings, she is
a school psychologist with
Fayette County Schools.
This month, schools
recognized National
School Psychology Week
November 3-7.